Before a customer purchases a new mattress, retailers and manufacturers recommend that the customer "test rest" the mattress. That is, the customer should fully lay on the mattress. By fully laying on the mattress, the customer can better compare the comfort of one mattress from another. However, some customers are reluctant to fully test rest a mattress because their shoes tend to soil or damage the mattress surface. Instead, such customers simply sit on the mattress or partially lay on the mattress, with their feet extending off the mattress surface.
To encourage customers to test rest mattresses, some retailers and manufacturers have placed protective coverings over the end of the mattress. Such coverings include fitted sleeves which slide onto the end of the bed. A disadvantage of these fitted sleeves is that they tend to fall off the end of the bed. One reason the fitted sleeves fall off is because mattresses vary in depth. Although the width and length of mattresses has been standardized, the depth or thickness of mattresses typically varies from 8 inches to 15 inches and up. This makes it difficult for a sleeve cover to adequately fit various sized mattresses.
Vinyl covers have also been sewn on the foot of the mattress for protection. However, one skilled in the art will appreciate that sewing a vinyl cover requires additional manufacturing expense. Also, a sewn vinyl cover can be ripped by a consumer test resting the mattress. When this happens, the mattress must be sent back to the manufacturer for recovering and repair.
Retail showrooms often contain several different styles and brands of mattresses. Mattress manufacturers usually include prominent brand or logo labels sewn onto the mattress to aid distinguishing one mattress from another. These labels are typically located at the foot of the mattress. It is desirable to provide a means for displaying mattress product information while at the same time providing means for protecting the foot end of the mattress against soiling while being tested by the consumer.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for protective coverings which can be placed at the end of a mattress. The protective coverings should also enable product labels and information to be displayed.
Such protective mattress coverings are disclosed and claimed herein.